Egg cartons



Aug. 27, 1968 G. A. SNOW ET AL EGG CARTONS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.30, 1966 Q6 Ei ii.

Aug. 27, 1968 Filed Dec. 30, 1966 G. A. SNOW ET AL EGG CARTONS E&@.4.

5 Sheets-3heet 2 Aug. 27, 1968 SNOW ET AL 3,398,875

EGG CARTONS Filed Dec. 30, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 93,398,875 EGG CARTONS Gerald A. Snow, Cumberland Foreside, and Harold A.Doughty, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, assignors to United IndustrialSyndicate, Inc., doing business as Portland Company Division of UnitedIndustrial Syndicate, Inc.,

Portland, Maine, a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 30, 1966, Ser. No.606,118

Claims. (Cl. 229--2.5)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Egg cartons having a cover hinged to the rearedge of a carton bottom and a locking flap hinged to the front edgethereof, the locking flap having a projection which extends through ahole in the front wall of the cover when the flap is positioned tounderlie the front wall of the cover when the cover is closed, the flapand cover front wall having vertical channels establishing inner andouter wall portions, one set of wall portions being more nearly verticalthan the other set of wall portions, together with a special flap hingeand with a cover front wall having seats internally of the cover frontwall engageable by the upper edges of the flap.

The present invention relates to molded containers for articles needingprotection of which eggs are but one example and the invention is hereindiscussed primarily with reference to egg carton embodiments. Cartonsfor such uses have a bottom formed with egg-receiving pockets, a coverintegral with and hingedly connected to its rear edge, and a lockingflap integral with and hingedly connected to the front edge of thebottom to fold upwardly and inwardly into an operative position in whichit underlies the front wall of the cover when it is closed, the frontwall of the cover and the flap including complemental interlockingportions that then become interengaged.

Other special-purpose containers have bottoms formed with articlereceiving compartments and covers hingedly connected thereto. When thesewere formed of material that would otherwise be too flexible, thebottoms and covers have been reinforced by stiffening channels. Thecovers, when such containers were closed, were supported by the upperedges of the bottom and their edges were also seated on shoulders formedmarginally thereof. Releasable means were commonly provided to lock thecovers to the front Wall of their container bottoms.

Egg cartons are made to nest and have their bottoms and tops ofapproximately the same depth. When molded from pulp or a plastic ofabout the same stiffness as pulp, no satisfactory connection directlybetween the carton bottoms and the covers is practicable. For thatreason, locking flaps are used and considerable effort has been directedto the prevention of their becoming disengaged from the coversincidental to the handling and transportation of the cartons. Suchlocking flaps have also been used to brace the covers adjacent theirjunction with their front walls in the manner of such otherspecial-purpose containers.

The present invention is concerned with the relationship of the lockingflaps to the covers and particularly to the front Walls thereof and alsoboth to their connection with and their support by the carton bottoms.

In accordance with the invention, a carton has its locking flap and thefront wall of its cover formed with vertically disposed reinforcementsin the form of mating channels providing the inner and outer wallportions are so inclined relatively to each other that one set of wallportions is outwardly and downwardly inclined and the ice other set ismore nearly vertical. Adjacent its front edge, the carton bottomincludes shelf structure on which a marginal portion of the flap restswith the channel portions that are the more nearly vertical with respectthereto increasing the effectiveness of the reinforcements.

A preferred construction of the invention is to have the reinforcingchannels of the front cover wall terminate substantially below itsjunction with the fiat portion of the cover and to so dimension thelocking flap that portions of it are engageable by the shouldersestablished on the interior surface of the front wall of the cover whenthe cover is closed. A particular objective of the invention is to havesuch flap portions and the seats with which they are engageable soinclined that downward pressure on the carton cover forces the lockingflap and the front cover wall into such mutual contact that ensures thatthe means interlocking them do not become accidentally released.

Another preferred feature of an egg carton in accordance with theinvention is the construction of the hinge integrally joining thelocking flap to the carton bottom. In accordance with this feature, theflap has a shoulder provided with a tapering web connecting it with thefront portion of the bottom at or adjacent it upper edge and definingthe hinge line between it and the locking flap. The flap shoulder andthe web include planar, angularly disposed surfaces. The front edge ofthe .carton bottom has shelf structure and an outwardly and downwardlyinclined marginal portion against which said planar flap portions seatwhen the locking flap is operatively disposed.

As problems exist in packing eggs above a predetermined size in any suchcarton, another objective of the invention is to provide egg-receivingpockets that are selfadjusting to a relatively wide, egg size range. Inaccordance with the invention, this objective is attained by providingeach pocket with a channel that presents an internal, vertical ribwithin that pocket to be engaged by the egg that is seated therein. Theribs, and there are desirably two for each pocket, are preferablylocated where the pocket walls are so spaced from each other that thechannels may flatten to expand a pocket without affecting any otherpocket.

In the accompanying drawings, there are shown illustrative embodimentsof the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novelfeatures, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top elevation of an egg carton in accordance with theinvention,

FIGURE 2 is a front view thereof,

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the carton,

FIGURE 4 is a top elevation of the carton, the carton being shown asopened,

FIGURE 5 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 55of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary section transversely of the hinge connectionbetween the locking flap and the bottom of the carton,

FIGURE 7 is a vertical section, on an increased scale, through anegg-receiving pocket,

FIGURE 8 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 88of FIGURE 7,

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8 illustrating the expansion of thepocket by an egg,

FIGURES 10, l1, and 12 are sections taken, respectively, substantiallyalong the indicated lines 1010, 1111, and 1212 of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary, vertical section through the locking flapand the front wall of the cover of a closed carton,

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary view of an open carton in accordance withanother embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE is a section, on an increased scale, taken approximately alongthe indicated line 1515 of FIG- URE 14, and

FIGURE 16 is a view similar to FIGURE 13 but illustrating yet anotherembodiment of the invention.

The egg carton illustrated by the drawings comprises an egg-receivingand supporting bottom, a cover, and a locking flap, generally indicatedat 20, 21, and 22, respectively. The cover 21 and the flap 22 areintegrally joined to the back and front, respectively, of the cartonbottom 20 by hinges generally indicated at 23 and 24, respectively.

The carton bottom 20 has a plurality of pockets generally indicated at25, shown as arranged in two parallel rows of six pockets each. Theouter portions of the walls of the pockets 25 are interconnected byoutwardly extending webs or shelves 26, which establish the plane of theupper surface of the bottom 20 except centrally of its ends where theshelves are depressed as at 26A. Hollow posts 27, projecting above thatplane, are so spaced between the two rows that each is common to andforms part of the wall of four pockets 25. Those parts 25A of the pocketwalls between the posts 27 and between a post 27 and a shelf 26 or 26Aterminate below the plane of the shelves 26. The wall structure 25A iscommon to two pockets 25 and is in the form of an inverted V. Elsewhere,the walls of adjacent pockets 25 are spaced apart.

Each pocket 25 is to support the lower portion of an egg and isgenerally egg-shaped but has a convex bottom 28. In order that thepockets 25 may serve to hold and support any egg whose dimensions arewithin an acceptably wide range, each pocket 25 is provided with a pairof inwardly disposed, vertical ribs 29, each shown as extending part wayup each post 27 and, accordingly, spaced about 90 apart. In the case ofthe pockets 25 at the end of the carton tray 20, a rib 29 of eachextends part way up its wall structure in the zone where thecorresponding wall srtucture of two end pockets merge and form a shelf26A. The ribs 29 are channels of U-shaped cross section with thechannels of each row of pockets opening towards the other row. The ribs29 present downwardly and inwardly inclined straight edges which areshown as terminating substantially above the bottom of each pocket to beengaged by an egg placed therein. While these ribs enable eggs within asubstantial undersize range to be securely supported, the pocket wallthickness and the nature of the material from which the cartons aremolded are such that the ribs 29 yield to effect the enlargement of anypocket that receives an egg whose pocket-entering portion is within asubstantial oversize range.

A web 30 joins the cover 21 to the rear upper edge of the car-ton bottom20, and has a pair of parallel V-shaped cuts 31 which establish thehinge 23. The cover 21 has a flat-surfaced top 32 and integral,outwardly and downwardly sloping front, rear, and end walls 33, 34, and35, respectively, of a height such that when the cover 21 is in itscarton-closing position, there is space for the upper portions of eggsseated in the pockets 25. The cover 21 has a marginal flange 36 and theend walls are recessed as at 35A in a manner such that, when the cover21 is closed against the bottom 20, the recesses 26A and 35A defineslots ensuring ventilation from endto-end of the carton.

The front wall 33 has a series of vertically disposed, generallyindicated channels 37 which serve to stiffen it. In the embodiment ofthe invention illustrated by the drawings, there are three such channelsand these are shown as of substantial width with upwardly and inwardlytapering ends and as tapering upwardly and outwardly from the flange 36away from the wall 33 and as terminating a substantial distance belowthe junction of the wall 33 and the top 32 of the cover 21 thus toprovide transversely alined, internal shoulders or seats 38. Inpractice, the seats 38 are inwardly and downwardly inclined. Betweeneach two channels 37 there is a locking aperture 39, the apertures beingshown as circular. The channels 37 thus provide wall portions 37A thatare more nearly vertical than the portions of the wall 33 between them,see FIGURE 13.

The shelves 26 along the front upper edge of the carton bottom 20include a straight edged narrow outwardly projecting shoulder 40 havingits front or outer edge presenting an outwardly and downwardly inclinedmargin 41, the angle of the margin 41 to the vertical being shown as inthe neighborhood of 58 The locking flap 22 includes a shoulder 42extending along its inner edge with the shoulder 42 having a web 43integrally connected to the shoulder 40 and tapering to define the foldline of the hinge 24. The surfaces 42A and 43A are planar and disposedangularly relative to each other, the angle between them beingapproximately that defined by the margin 41 and the structure 26. Thesurface 43A is of approximately the same width as the margin 41 so thatwhen the locking fiap 22 is swung upwardly and inwardly into itsoperative position prior to the closing of the cover 21, the surfaces43A and 42A engage and are supported, respectively, by the margin 41 andproximate portions of the shelves 26 at the front upper edge of thecarton bottom 21. The surface 42B is parallel to the surface 42A andwhen the locking flap 22 is seated on the outer edge of the cartonbottom 20, the surface 423 is parallel to and underlies the front wall33 of the cover 21 and is engageable thereby when the cover 22 ispositioned to close the carton.

The locking flap 22 includes vertically disposed reinforcing channels 44of the same shape as the channels 37 of the cover front wall 32 and areshown as dimensioned to fit therein. The channels 44 taper downwardlyand inwardly from the free end of the locking flap 22 and terminateadjacent the shoulder surface 42B thus to provide outer portions 44A,see FIGURE 13, that are more nearly vertical than the intermediateportions of the flap 22. The upper extremities 44B are engageable withthe seats 38 and are so inclined that they interlock and, on downwardpressure on the cover 21, the locking flap 22 and the front wall 33 areurged into tight mutually reinforcing relationship with the loadfavorably distributed relative to the vertical.

The locking flap 22 has locking projections 45, one for each aperture 39of the cover front wall 33 and extending outwardly therethrough when thecover 22 is in its closed-position to hold it against accidentalrelease. The projections 45 do not protrude beyond the plane of thesurfaces 37A of the reinforcements 37 which are preferably closelyspaced to minimize the chances of the projection being accidentallyreleased from the holes 39. Each locking projection 45, at its base andat its outer end is circular but its upper portion tapers downwardlyvand outwardly from the upper edge of the flap 22 while its lowerportion projects outwardly at right angles to the flap portions 22A.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES 14 and 15 illustratesthe reinforcement of the posts 27A by continuing the channels thatestablish the ribs 29A in the egg-receiving pockets upwardly along eachpost 27A and across the top thereof, each reinforcing rib 29A beingcommon to diagonally spaced pockets.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIG- URE 16, adifferent arrangement of the vertical and tapering channels providingreinforcements of the locking flap and of the front wall of the cartoncover is shown.

In the egg carton shown in FIGURE 16, the channels 46 of the outwardlyand downwardly inclined front wall 47 of the cover 48 are desirablynarrow and project inwardly of and at an angle relative thereto toprovide wall portions 46A that are approximately at right anglesrelative to the plane of the flat top wall 49 of the cover 48 andprovide closed bearing ends 50.

The locking fiap 51, while it may otherwise be similar to the lockingfiap 23, has its vertical, inwardly disposed channels by which it isreinforced, generally indicated at 52 and these are upwardly andinwardly tapered to have mating engagement with the channels 46 of thecover 48 and to provide approximately vertical inner wall portions 52Arelative to which the remainder of the flap is outwardly and downwardlyinclined when the flap 51 is operatively positioned with its seat 53resting on the shelf structure 54 of the carton bottom 55 and engageableby the bearing ends 50 when the cover 48 is closed. The flap 51 is shownas having its free edge terminating well below the flat cover wall 49.The flap 52 has locking projections 56 disposed to enter aperture 57 inthe front cover wall 47.

Egg cartons in accordance with the invention are well adapted to meetrequirements since, once filled and closed, they resist accidentalopening during handling and transit.

We claim:

1. A molded carton of the type comprising a bottom including front, rearand side walls and a plurality of article-receiving pockets, a coverincluding a flat top and depending front, side, and rear walls with atleast the front cover wall being outwardly inclined, the rear cover andbase walls being integrally and hingedly interconnected, and a lockingfiap integrally and hingedly connected to the front wall of said base toswing into and out of an upwardly disposed, inwardly inclined operativeposition in which it is in mutual contact with the rear face of thefront cover wall when the cover is in its cartonclosing position, saidcarton being characterized by the bottom including shelf structureextending along the front upper edge of the bottom, the flap including aportion resting on said shelf structure in the operative flap position,the flap and the front cover wall including vertically disposedchannels, the channels of the front cover wall commencing adjacent itsbottom edge and the channels of the flap commencing adjacent said flapportion, the channels establishing inner and outer sets of wall portionsfor both said cover front wall and said flap, the wall portions of saidinner and outer sets being inclined relative to each other with the wallportion of one set being more nearly vertical than the other, means tolock at least one wall portion of the flap to the corresponding wallportion of the cover front wall, said means comprising a projection onthe portion of the flap to be locked and the portion of the cover frontwall to be locked having a hole through which the projection extendswhen the cover is closed with the flap in its operative position, atleast some of the flap wall portions of both sets bracing said cover andresisting inward movement of the flap when the cover is in support of aload.

2. The molded carton of claim 1 in which the channels of the front coverwall terminate below the top of the cover to provide a series oflongitudinally extending seats and the flap is dimensioned so that upperedges of its outer wall portions are engageable with the seats when thecarton is closed.

3. The molded carton of claim 2 in which the seats and seat-engagingupper edges are inclined inwardly and downwardly whereby downwardpressure on the cover when the carton is closed urges the locking flapand front cover wall together.

4. The molded carton of claim 1 in which the outer wall portions of thefront wall of the cover and of the locking flap are the more nearlyvertical wall portions, the channels of the front wall of the coverterminate below the junction of the front wall of the cover and the topthereof to provide internal longitudinally extending seats, and theupper edges of the outer wall portions of the locking flap areengageable with the seats when the carton is closed.

5. The molded carton of claim 1 in which the inner wall portions of thefront wall of the cover and of the locking flap are the more nearlyvertical wall portions and, the lower ends of the channels of the fiapdefine seats engageable by the lower ends of the channels of the frontwall of the cover.

6. The molded carton of claim 1 in which the aperture is circular andthe projection is circular at its extremities and includes outwardly anddownwardly tapering upper portions and a lower portion that is straight.

7. A molded carton of the type comprising a bottom including front, rearand side walls and a plurality of article-receiving pockets, a coverincluding a flat top and depending front, side, and rear walls with atleast the front cover wall being outwardly inclined, the rear cover andbase walls being integrally and hingedly interconnected, and a lockingflap integrally and hingedly connected to the front wall of said base toswing into and out of an upwardly disposed, inwardly inclined operativeposition in which it is in mutual contact with the rear face of thefront cover wall when the cover is in its cartonclosing position, saidcarton being characterized by said bottom including a horizontal shelfstructure and an outwardly and downwardly inclined margin along itsfront edge and said locking flap including a shoulder and a tapering webintegrally connecting said shoulder and the front portion of said bottomand defining with said front portion a fold line enabling said flap tobe swung into and out of said upwardly disposed operative position, saidflap shoulder and said web including planar portions then engaging,respectively, said inclined margin and shelf, and the opposite face ofsaid flap shoulder being parallel to said shoulder and then beingengageable by the bottom edge of said front cover wall.

8. The molded carton of claim 1 in which the wall portions of the flapand cover front wall to be interlocked are inner wall portions.

9. The molded carton of claim 1 in which the wall portions of the flapand cover front wall to be interlocked are oiiter wall portions.

10. The molded carton of claim 1 in which the channels of the frontcover wall terminate short of the junction of the front cover wall withthe cover top wall and the locking aperture of the front cover wall isin an inner wall portion and is located below the upper ends of thechannels.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,771,233 11/1956 Cox 229292,970,734 2/ 1961 Heath 229-45 X 3,138,314 6/1964 Reifers et al. 229-293,185,370 5/1965 Reifers et al. 2292.5 3,215,326 11/ 1965 Despres 22945X DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner.

